HPU Baseball Opens Weekend With A 6-1 Win At The College Of Charleston

• High Point earned its third-straight win with a 6-1 win over the College of Charleston in the first game of a weekend series.
• Sophomore Josh Greene hit a career-high two home runs in the contest for the Panthers.
• Senior John McGillicuddy got the win for High Point after giving up just one earned run in seven innings of work.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The High Point University baseball team opened its weekend series against the College of Charleston with a 6-1 win on Friday night in Charleston, S.C. Sophomore Josh Greene had two solo home runs for HPU in the victory.

“Obviously this was the best game we have played all year long,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “We were clicking on all cylinders offensively. We did a great job of creating run situations and executing. On the mound, McGillicuddy was special tonight and our bullpen punched out four guys in the last two innings. That was a complete game, now we need to duplicate that tomorrow.”

Senior John McGillicuddy earned his first win of the season and improved to 1-3 after allowing just one run in seven innings of work. McGillicuddy gave up just four hits and a walk while striking out four. Senior Conor Lourey and redshirt-junior Joe Goodman pitched the final two innings and combined for four strikeouts for the Panthers.

Taylor Clarke suffered his first loss of the season for the Cougars, dropping to 3-1 for 2015. Clarke pitched seven innings and allowed just two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out 10.

The win is High Point’s third in a row and it improves the Panthers’ record to 6-9 on the season. The College of Charleston drops to 9-5 with the loss.

Greene gave High Point an early 1-0 lead when he connected for a solo home run in the top of the second inning. Greene turned on an inside pitch and hit it over the wall in right for his first home run of the season. The HPU centerfielder then doubled the Panther lead two innings later with his second home run of the game. Greene once again turned on a pitch and sent it to almost the same spot as his first home run to put High Point up 2-0.

The College of Charleston got on the board in the fifth with a solo home run by Morgan Phillips. The Cougar centerfielder swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a high drive over the wall in left to make the score 2-1.

High Point added two runs in the eighth to push its lead to 4-1. Freshman Hunter Lee was hit by a pitch and came around to score from first on a double by senior Josh Spano for the first run of the frame. Walks by senior Spencer Angelis and Greene then loaded the bases before a balk by Charleston pitcher Carter Love scored Spano from third.

The Panthers scored two final runs in the ninth to bring the score to 6-1. Freshman Carson Jackson played a role in both HPU runs in the frame as he drove in senior Dane McDermott with an RBI double and came around to score on a single by Lee.

Greene’s two home runs on Friday double his career total. He is the first HPU player to hit two home runs in a game since senior Brady Williamson hit two in a win over Longwood on May 10, 2014. Greene finished 2-3 at the plate with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored on the night. Jackson also notched multiple hits, going 2-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored.

High Point will try and clinch a series win over College of Charleston when the two teams meet to continue their weekend series with a game on Saturday, March 14, at Patriots Point. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.